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Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Random ranty pants post! I find TV advertisement of today very very irritating. There was a point in my life where I loved TV ad's, I'd read books, buy DVD's of Ad directors... But nowadays... Well... What a load of shit!The past couple of years seems to have seen this shift in TV ad's working the whole 'playing on happy family emotions' element which I find bloody boring, cringeworthy and irritating. Mostly annoying by the softly whispy-waspy voice of some female singer covering what was once (in my opinion) a good song, usually overlaid by some happy smiley people acting out some standard cliche'd bullshit routine.Whatever happened to adverts being fun, creative minded and musically pleasing? Call me weird, but for me there aren't really any ad's that creatively please me anymore, I like the surreal, the thoughtful and the wonderful but TV adverts at the moment lack all those elements big time! Anyway, I just felt like putting that rant out there and also to share some of what I consider beautiful and creative ad's of the past. None of this waspy voiced overlaid bullshit. Just pure surrealism!Levi's Commercial - Spaceman 1995 - (Oh how I loved this song and the aliens!)

Monday, 30 March 2015

I'm on a cake making phase. Tackled a few recipes lately, everything from Lemon cake through to my own twist on a carrot cake. It was my friends son's birthday at the weekend, so I made him some cakes and thought I'd share the recipe.Ingredients:175g unsalted butter.175g caster sugar.2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.3 eggs.175g of self raising flower.Cream cheese icing. (I used plain flavoured on some and strawberry flavoured on the other).Sprinkles of your choice. (I used popping candy on some and sugar cane and hundreds and thousands on others).Method:

Preheat the oven to a 170 degrees/ Gas mark 3.

Mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Pour in the vanilla essence and add the eggs mix again to make a yellow batter.

Add the flour and mix until it is smooth, about 5 minutes. Stop once in the middle of this and scrape the sides down using a spatula. The longer mixing time enables air to get into the mixture which will make it lighter. Pour into fairy or cupcake cases.

Bake for about 14 minutes. Keep an eye on them. They will be perfect when they bounce back to the touch and the top still looks slightly sticky. This will ensure they keep their moisture.

Leave on a cooling rack for 30 minutes or until cool, then decorate as you wish. (I used cream cheese icing and sprinkles).

Wednesday, 18 March 2015

Back in March 2013, Wrexham Council rejected a planning application for a test drill, that was over-ruled by an outside government inspector. It wasn't until October last year that I learnt that this was happening down the road from where I live, so I attended a public awareness meeting to find out more. The risks from fracking are truly outrageous and I find it insane that our government are trying to push this through despite the damage that has happened abroad. BUT with money to be made and shares in the industry, I don't suppose our Tory government care about the public or what we think!I won't waffle on too much, as everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if you'd like to learn more you can visit: http://www.frackfreewrexham.org.uk/Back to my original point of this post, as being my blog I share artwork, designs, life and more.... But basically I wanted to share with you this poster that I volunteered to design for Frack Free Wrexham. It's for an Easter Family Fun Day that will be held on 5th April at the Borras Protection Camp. I've volunteered to run an arts and crafts stall, so we'll be making Easter egg bags with the kiddies so they can put their treats in from the Easter Egg Hunt.The idea behind the event is to try and encourage new people in the community to visit the camp, have a good fun day out, but also learn more. Surprisingly enough, despite massive coverage in the local press, there are still lots of people in the local area who aren't aware that this is happening in Wrexham.This should be a fun day out for all the family with a BBQ, Tombola, Easter egg hunt and more!Here's the poster I volunteered to design for the event...

Wednesday, 11 March 2015

Bee's are in decline and have been disappearing since the late 1990's.

The main reasons for the bee's decline is down to a number of factors including industrial agriculture, parasites, more patio'd gardens and climate change.Bee's play an important part in our eco systems. A third of all our food depends on their pollination! A world without pollinators would be devastating for food production. Bee's are essential in pollinating the crops that form our food and also the wild plants that grow across the country and provide food for much of our wildlife. Without bees, the very fabric of our lives will change considerably.These garden friend's need our help! How you may wonder? Simple.... Plant these and help save our bee's!Even if you only have a small garden or patio, herbs can be grown in pots or buckets and are very easy to maintain.

There is a petition here to keep the ban on bee-killing pesticides. Please sign.